1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting diode (LED). More particularly, the present invention relates to a light emitting diode that can be mounted on a substrate by its side to provide an ultra-thin profile.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable electric devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) or cell phones are increasingly common and popular. The current trend for those portable devices is towards light, thin, short and small profile. Structure, operation and appearance are emphasized in the compact design of these portable devices so that they are convenient to carry and are competitive in the market. Therefore, components of those compact portable devices must have a small configuration.
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) used for surface mount devices (SMD) are needed to be smaller than general purpose LEDs. Therefore, the SMD type LEDs are extensively used in backlight modules of small-sized liquid crystal displays (LCDS) to be light sources, as well as in cell phones to illuminate the screen. Quality requirements of the SMD type LEDs are higher than the general purpose LEDs. A thin LED in accordance with the prior art is manufactured with a height about 350 micrometers, because the height of the die of the LED and process capability of manufacturing thin substrates restricts the package of the LED with a lower height. To manufacture an LED with a height smaller than 200 micrometers is difficult, and results in limited applications of the LED.
The prior art thins down and lowers other components (such as lead frame) of the LED to lower than the entire height of the LED package due to the inherent height of the die. However, to thin down the components weakens the component's stiffness, which causes the component to be easily deformed and broken during manufacturing processes. Therefore, the thinned components may be difficult to transport and store because the probability of being damaged during transportation and storage is raised, as well as manufacturing cost.
Therefore, there is a need to provide an LED with an improved base apparatus to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.